Singer Alexandra Burke has spoken out about her experiences of racism in the music industry, revealing she was asked to bleach her skin “to look whiter”.
After winning X Factor, Burke said she was told she would “have to work 10 times harder than a white artist, because of the colour of your skin”.
In a 15-minute Instagram video, she recalls being told: “You can’t have braids, you can’t have an afro.
“You have to have hair… that appeals to white people.”
The 31-year-old star, who won the TV talent show in 2008 at the age of 19, described the experiences as “heartbreaking”.
Burke, who refused to bleach her skin, said she was inspired to tell her story by fellow X Factor contestant Misha B, who recently spoke out about “being devalued” at the hands of the music industry.
Misha B claimed the X Factor projected “this angry black girl narrative”, using words such as “feisty” and “bully” to describe her after one a live performance on the show.
The 2011 contestant said it left her feeling suicidal.